Stupid and Alone
by Blade of Justice
Summary: To her great dismay, Chris finds herself alone and with nothing to do on her long awaited day off.


It was a hot afternoon as the three Symphogear users stepped outside of the school's gates. Today was to be their first day off in quite a while, and each one of them was looking forward to how they would be spending it - especially one Yukine Chris.

"So, now that we're finally out of _there_-" Turning to her two comrades, the busty girl flashed a mischievous grin. She both loved the normalcy of going to school, and everything the change in lifestyle had brought her, and hated (but not really) how frustrating it could be, so she was thrilled to be out and have some proper free time for a change. "Are you two up for an afternoon at the arcade? I've been raring to get some payback for the last time we went together."

"Ah, sorry..." Hibiki was the first to answer - though she certainly seemed apologetic enough, she couldn't help but smile, given what her plans for the day were. "I've got plans with Miku. We haven't gotten to hang out in a while, so I've kind of been really excited for today..." Hibiki clapped her hands together to make an apologetic gesture. "Sorry, Chris-chan!"

"Oh?" Chris wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, masking her disappointment with a light elbow to her friend's shoulder. "Just make sure you get her home by morning, you rascal, you!"

"C-Chris-chan!" Both girls knew that Chris' comment didn't really make sense - Hibiki and Miku lived together, and more often than not shared a bed anyway. That didn't change the fact that the innuendo was still just completely...! Her face flushed, Hibiki glanced at her watch and paled. "Aaaah, I'm going to be late! Bye Chris-chan, Tsubasa-san!"

"And there she goes..." Chris whistled as Hibiki somehow managed to dash off at a speed that only she seemed capable of, and only then when in a hurry. Shrugging, Chris decided to see if the blue haired idol would be up for joining her. Two people might not beat three, but it still beat the hell out of one. "Well? What about you?"

"I'm afraid I'll have to pass as well," Tsubasa replied, her tone almost business-like. Noticing Chris' obvious disappointment, she offered a small smile. "Sorry, but although I'm not on duty today, my work never ends. I'm just going to be meeting with Ogawa and working on my schedule for my next tour."

Chris sighed. When would Tsubasa learn that sometimes you had to stop and smell the roses once in a while? It took her long enough to figure that out, and now that she knew, she'd never waste a minute again.

Well... Then again, given how Tsubasa and that manager of hers could basically read each others' minds... Maybe...

"Alright, alright!" Slapping her friend on the back, Chris stopped walking, a knowing grin forming on her face. "You go and have a good time with that stud of a manager of yours! I'll be fine. Maybe I'll just rent a movie and make it a girl's night in or something."

"Yukine..." Unlike Hibiki, Tsubasa wasn't nearly as easy to provoke. It was clear to her that her comrade was disappointed - but that didn't change the facts. She _did_ have work to do. Reaching for her friend's shoulder, Tsubasa tilted her head slightly. "Next time we have a day off?"

"It's a date. Now get out of here before I start chasing you!" Feeling slightly better at Tsubasa's offer, Chris could at least see the idol off with a smile... but as soon as she was gone, Chris found her shoulders slumping and the ground suddenly turning into a very interesting thing to be looking at.

"Well, this sucks."

Cramming her hands into her pockets, Chris slowly began the trek downtown. She really had been looking forward to today, but in hindsight, she probably should have checked beforehand to make sure the people she wanted to spend time with would be available. Now, not only was she disappointed, she just felt like a right idiot for not thinking to make proper plans before the actual day had come.

Eventually coming to a takoyaki stand she had recently grown fond of, Chris stopped and ordered herself a snack so she could figure out what to do with her day now that she was stuck all by her lonesome. She sat herself down on a bench to at least make the best of her treat, but unfortunately for her, this just left her with a perfect view of the park across the street - and all the happy children playing with their friends within.

Chris kicked at the ground and took a bite of her food.

"I'd better do _something_..." Frowning as she chewed, Chris remembered her earlier words to Tsubasa. She'd just blurted something out, but maybe she really would go rent a movie. Maybe something really bloody and scary, with lots and lots of guns! Chris started to grin at the idea. Sure, she was technically too young for most movies like that, but when had that ever stopped her before?

Her heart now set on death and destruction, the lavender haired girl hopped off the bench and finished off her takoyaki in one bite, tossing the wrapper away in a nearby trashcan.

Still... Biting her lip, Chris realized that as enticing as the movie seemed, she couldn't help but think about how much more fun it would be to watch it with her... friends. To see their reactions, to fight over the popcorn bowl with them, maybe throw some at them... To laugh at Hibiki saying how horrible the movie was for being so violent - maybe she'd hide under a pillow? And she'd totally kill to know how Tsubasa reacted to scary, violent stuff like that!

Continuing her walk, Chris frowned to herself. It was odd, wasn't it? Shouldn't it be fine to watch a movie alone instead of with others...?

Yet the more she pondered on this (and boy was she pondering - she nearly walked into someone twice), the more she came to realize that she really would have preffered to have someone to do something with - even if it was something she didn't even like doing.

When had she changed like that? Was it Hibiki that had done it? Or was it everyone? Maybe it was... him?

Before, she had been fine alone. Sure, she was with... _her_, but it wasn't like they ever sat together for quality time and watched movies or anything like that. She might as well have been alone then compared to how whole her life seemed now.

"Whole..." Chris repeated out loud, as if tasting the word on her lips. Was that what this was? Was she whole, now that she wasn't alone? Now that she fought for the sake of others? Now that she thought of others constantly? Did that mean she had been empty before?

... Jeez! She hadn't planned on getting so philosophical! This was worse than just wasting the day doing nothing!

"Time to pick up the pace!" Shaking away her thoughts as best she could, Chris began to jog - quite a feat given the elevator shoes that the girl wore to mask her height (i-it wasn't like she was sensitive about it or anything!), but she was beyond used to the feeling the shoes brought to her by now.

As Chris finally arrived at the movie store, her pace began to slow as she caught sight of a man - a man that she'd actually been thinking about just a little while ago - who also seemed to be heading for the store. A tall, well built man with spiky red hair, and - not that Chris could see it from behind - a short, pointed goatee. Her eyes lit up, sparkling with devlish intent, as she realized just who she'd stumbled upon.

Kazanari Genjuro - known to some as Commander, and technically known to Chris as her legal guardian.

"I bet he's here for some 'classy' movies..." Chris murmured to herself, rubbing her hands together at the thought of catching the man in the act of doing something so shameful. He'd never live it down! Forgoing thoughts of blood and gore, Chris began tiptoeing through the crowd to see if she could follow him without being noticed. She'd had plenty of experience tailing people over the years, so this was a fairly easy task for Chris - and despite how loud she normally was, she managed to follow him into the store with relative ease.

He didn't seem to be making any attempt to hide his precense though... Which meant he either had no shame, which could totally be the case knowing him, or...

Chris glanced up to check the section where Genjuro had stopped at and made a face.

Classic action movies. She should have known.

"Is there something the matter, Chris-kun?"

Nearly jumping a foot into the air as she was spoken to - he hadn't even turned around! - Chris did her best to appear the picture of cool, calm, and collected.

"N-Nothing at all, sir!" The man simply grunted at her response, to which Chris sighed. He seemed much more interested in reading the backs of the DVDs he'd picked up than he was with her, which just made it even more annoying that he picked up on her so easily. "... How'd you know I was following you?"

"Years and years of training," came the half-hearted response, eyes never leaving the DVDs. Chris honestly couldn't tell if he was joking or not. As she began to formulate a comeback, Genjuro spoke again - this time to himself. "Hmmm, this one looks pretty good... I can't believe I've never seen it before..."

Curious, Chris dropped her half-formed retort and attempted to peek over the man's shoulder... except that said shoulder was probably two heads higher than her, even with her shoes boosting her height.

Glancing behind him at the girl who was standing fruitlessly on her tiptoes to get a look at what he was looking at, Genjuro laughed heartily and offered the DVD to the teenager, who snatched it out of his hands and held it up to her face to read - if he had to guess, so he couldn't see how much she was blushing.

"This looks stupid," Chris spoke deadpan after giving the DVD a good once over. She thrust the movie into the man's chest and looked up at him, her gaze filled with the judgement and disappointment of a once-loyal child who had discovered their parent liked listening to polka.

"S-Stupid!?" Now that managed to break Genjuro out of his cool. This looked like it was a classic! Clutching the poor, insulted movie to his chest, Genjuro coughed, collecting himself, and shook his head. "T-That's just a matter of opinion, Chris-kun."

"Yeah, well, I'm sticking with mine. I'm gonna go find something from this century. See ya."

Chris waved a hand over her head as a "farewell" gesture as she headed towards the horror movies, not glancing back at the tall man she'd left behind.

Genjuro watched her go for a moment, a small laugh escaping his lips, before he shook his head and headed to the checkout with his choice.

To his surprise, as he was about to leave the store, Genjuro felt a tug. Turning around, he found himself face to face with none other than a blushing Chris, who had grabbed a fistful of his shirt to stop him from leaving.

"Chris-kun...?"

"... C-Can I come over to your place and watch that with you?"

"Hmm? But I thought you said-"

"Screw what I said! You'll have popcorn, right?"

"Naturally."

"Okay then."

The one thing stupider than a stupid movie, Chris had decided, was a stupid person who would give up the chance to hang out with someone they care about just because what they were doing seemed stupid to them.

... Incidentally, the movie ended up moving Chris to the point of tears, not that she would ever admit it, and as of this date, she's forced Hibiki and Tsubasa to watch it again with her on five separate occasions. But that's another story.


End file.
